The present disclosure relates generally to medical device user interfaces, and, more particularly, to customizable medical device user interfaces.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In the field of medicine, doctors often desire to monitor certain physiological characteristics of their patients. Accordingly, a wide variety of devices have been developed for monitoring many such characteristics of a patient. Such devices provide doctors and other healthcare personnel with the information they need to provide the best possible healthcare for their patients. As a result, such monitoring devices have become an indispensable part of modern medicine.
Patient monitors include medical devices that facilitate measurement and observation of patient physiological data. For example, pulse oximeters are a type of patient monitor. A typical patient monitor cooperates with a sensor to detect and display a patient's vital signs (e.g., temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate) and/or other physiological measurements (e.g., water content of tissue, blood oxygen level) for observation by a user (e.g., clinician). For example, pulse oximeters are generally utilized with related sensors to detect and monitor a patient's functional oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (i.e., SpO2) and pulse rate. Other types of patient monitors, such as blood pressure monitors, may be utilized to detect and monitor other physiological parameters. Further, the patient monitors may be incorporated into other types of medical devices, such as mechanical ventilators and anesthesia machines, among others.
A patient monitor may include a screen that displays information relating to operation and use of the patient monitor. A typical patient monitor screen may display operational data that is instructive and that facilitates operation of the monitor by a user. For example, the operational data may include status indicators and instructional data relating to the monitor itself and/or monitor applications (e.g., a power indicator, an alarm silenced icon, and a battery low indicator). The screen may also display measurement data from a patient being monitored. For example, the measurement data may include information relating to a physiological feature of the patient being monitored. Specifically, the screen may display a graph or trend (e.g., a pulse rate trend, and/or a plethysmographic waveform) of data relating to particular measured physiological parameters.
A patient caretaker may navigate through various screens of a patient monitor using input devices, such as buttons, to view operational data and/or to change operating parameters, such as alarm limits, of the patient monitor. Further, the input devices may be used to customize operational aspects of the patient monitor, such as alarm volume, alarm duration, or display scales. Individual patient caretakers may desire different types of user interfaces and/or may prefer different operating parameters. However, patient monitors may be shared by several patient caretakers, which may limit customization.